Adoption Day!

As many of you have probably already heard, for quite a while now my parents have been working towards adopting the precious two (almost three) year old girl in the picture to the left. This Wednesday was the court hearing to finalize her adoption into our family. Even though the court room was in another state, my parents were able to "attend" over the phone from our home where the social worker and a Notary also came. The hearing went by without a hitch and she is now officially Sarah Morrison! Thankfully she has already been able to live with us for while now so we already have a bond with her and her with us. Her and Joel are only a few days apart and are almost like twins. It is so fun to watch and listen to them interacting with each other.

To celebrate we all went to the Botanical Gardens as a family. We then came home to a spaghetti dinner and ice cream for dessert. My parents also gave her a stuffed animal dog as an adoption day gift which she loves. Below are a few pictures from our day.

Backtracking: The Last Two Days of Next

I decided to go back in time a little bit and briefly cover the final two days of the Next conference. I have already covered the first two days so you can scroll down to see them both if you would like.

May 28, 2012

This day began with a great sermon by Kevin DeYoung (titled The Church + Holiness) on our conscience. He talked about how our conscience "is the mark of being an adult" and "separates us from animals." However, out conscience can, and does, go wrong; we can have an evil conscience, a seared conscience, or even a defiled or weak conscience. What we want to have is a good/clean conscience. He also stated that, "God means for your conscience to be your friend." It can show us the wrong in our lives that we need to deal with, and it can show us when we are forgiven and clean. Another of his statements was that, "God forgives you, in Christ, as an act of justice. It has been paid for."

After this we broke for another free lunch! It was raining so we had to eat inside, but Suzanne, Lindsay, and I chose a seat on the floor near some glass doors so we could at least see outside.

The second sermon of the day was by Matt Chandler on "The Church + Culture." He spoke about how we need to be salt and light in the culture around us. He stated, "God has uniquely placed you where you are" and asked if we saw our college, neighborhood, etc in this way.

These were the only two sermons of the day. There were some breakout type sessions for pastors and worship leaders (which I did not attend). In addition, that evening (as well as the evening before) C.J. Mahaney sat down with one of the speakers and talked with them about their lives. This night it was Matt Chandler and the night before it was with Kevin DeYoung.

May 29, 2012

The last day of the conference. C.J. Mahaney spoke that morning on "The Church + Disappointment" and how we should react when we are disappointed with one's church.  We ought to remember God's sovereignty, avoid complaining, and remember that it is not about us, but about God, and Christ, and loving other people. We also need to remember to hold fast to the gospel because it can ultimately satisfy, but no church can.

After this message ended, we said some goodbyes, and then Lindsay, Suzanne, and I waited until our shuttle arrived to transport us to the Orlando airport. The three of us were on the same flight, but we had quite a bit of time to wait in the airport. 


We split up in Atlanta with Suzanne heading home on a different flight from Lindsay and I (who were together). Flights home are never quite as exciting, and I think we were all tired from the great weekend. I know I slept part of the time! It was a wonderful weekend, but it was also good to return home.

 

These and all the other messages from Next 2012 (as well as previous Next/New Attitude conferences) are available for free at www.thisisnext.org

The Unexpected

I had lots of plans for last weekend; Opsail, Busch Gardens, etc. But as Proverbs 16:9 states, "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Instead I spent a big chunk of my weekend in the emergency room. I had a seizure at home, in bed, early Friday morning on the 8th, and my parents took me to the ER where I had a second seizure. While in the ER the doctors ran several different tests, and ended up keeping me overnight. Throughout this time I was in and out of sleep and consciousness (thankfully not conscious during the seizures!) so my memory of my time their is spotty and limited. There are even times when I was awake that I do not remember and would not have known about if someone had not told me. For example, I had no idea that they had already done the EEG until a nurse or doctor mentioned it.

I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday and recommended to take a week off, and boy did I need it. I was very tired and out of it (probably getting used to the side effects of  medication they put me on did not help). On top of that my tongue was so sore (I chewed it up pretty badly during the seizures) that I could hardly eat anything for several days which did not help with the exhaustion. Thankfully later in the week I started to improve, and now, though my tongue is still a bit sore, I am able to talk and eat almost normally. I still feel a little tired and "off", but figure that could also be due to still getting used to the medication. I was able to go to church today and will start back at work tomorrow. However, for safety reasons, I will not be allowed to drive for at least six months which does make things somewhat more complicated.

Next I want to take a second to thank all of you who have prayed and given encouraging notes, comments, visits, etc. It is neat to see how many people have been praying for me through this time. Please keep the prayers coming as we move forward with figuring this out. The "not knowing" is part of what makes me nervous; this could never happen again, this could happen often, this could happen once every ten years; we just don't know at this point. I see a neurologist next month so maybe that will shed some light on possibilities, but we shall see.

A verse God encouraged me with the other day is Psalm 139: 15-16. It says, "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them" It encouraged my by showing me that God MADE my body the way it is, and God KNEW that these seizures would happen when they did. He knew this even before I was here on this earth. Furthermore, He knows what is in store for me in the future; every last part of it. I do not have any control, I may not have any idea what is going to happen, but God is in complete control and has complete knowledge.

Next 2012: Day 2

May 27, 2012
(To start reading from day one scroll down)

 This was the first full day of the Next conference. I, and many others, needed coffee after staying up so late. Conveniently there is a coffee shop located in between the hotel rooms side of the convention center and the side where the conference was held in the Gatlin Ballroom. With a frappacino in hand for breakfast I headed to the first sessions of the new day. The day began with two sessions before lunch (with a short break in between).


Jared Mellinger gave a great sermon titled "The Church + Membership" about why it is important that we join ourselves to a local church. He spoke about the benefits (blessings) of being a part of a local church. The benefits/blessings include committed fellowship, greater growth, experiencing spiritual gifts, spiritual protection, godly leadership, and a powerful witness to the world. He stated that, "Church membership means active participation. We should each be involved with a sense of ownership."

Ian McConnell's sermon, titled "The Church + Sunday", was closely related. He spoke on the importance of attending your local church regularly, stating that, "We can experience a taste of Heaven hear on earth every time we gather with our local church." We have great privileges and great responsibilities that come with attending our local church.

After these sessions were over we were given free lunch! Lindsay, Suzanne, and I picked up our delicious sub sandwiches and headed outdoors to enjoy a picnic lunch in the gorgeous weather and sunshine.

During our long afternoon we break we relaxed, took a walk to the grocery store to find some cheaper food and coffee, and spent some time in and near the pool. It was nice to have this break time. 

The final session of the day was Kevin DeYoung preaching a sermon titled "The Church + Friendship." The was probably one of my favorite messages from the conference; it was on being a faithful friend rather than a foul or fake friend. It was personally convicting, encouraging, and applicable.

We finished out the evening with some late-night dancing thanks to some people who had brought along speakers and music. Also had a wonderful chat with Suzanne late into the night (or morning rather) about Kevin DeYoung's message and its application in our lives.

For these messages or any of the others (or even those from previous Next/New Attitude conferences) visit www.thisisnext.org